First Olympics after turning 30 Contributes to winning gold medal by leading juniors, President Jeong Ui-seon expresses gratitude to Jeon Hoon-young after individual event
The eldest member of the Korean women’s archery team, Jeon Hoon-young (Incheon Metropolitan City Hall), who is in her thirties and is making her Olympic debut, took good care of her juniors and contributed to the gold medal race at the Paris Olympics.
Although she did not win an individual medal, as the eldest member, she led her juniors to win the women’s team gold medal. Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, who is also the president of the Korea Archery Association and the Asian Archery Federation, visited Jeon Hoon-young in person right after the individual event on the 3rd to encourage
her. Tokyo four years ago could have been Jeon Hoon-young’s first Olympics. She was expected to be a medal candidate, but the Olympics were postponed by one year due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). She gave up her spot to her juniors in the national team trials that were held again. She had to grit her teeth for three years and wait for the next Olympics.
This year, she made her Olympic debut in Paris after turning 30. She had not won any international competitions since winning two gold medals at the 2014 World University Championships, but she achieved her dream of competing in the Olympics by joining the national team in April of this year.
Jeon Hoon-young, born in 1994, is about 10 years older than Im Si-hyun (born in 2003) and Nam Su-hyun (born in 2005), but she gave up the privileges that come with being an older sister.
When deciding on the team’s accommodations upon arriving in Paris, Jeon Hoon-young raised her hand and said, “I will share a room with a table tennis player.” This was to take care of her juniors, who were also participating in her first Olympics. The accommodations were two-person rooms, so one of them had to share a room with an athlete from a different sport, but she set an example for her juniors.
When one of the coaching staff asked, “It’s not Taereung days, so is it okay for you to be with other athletes for more than ten days?” Jeon Hoon-young replied, “I’m okay if my younger siblings are comfortable.” Jeon Hoon-young also did his part inside the stadium. Because he shoots arrows quickly, he was the first archer in the team event. In the archery team event, 120 seconds are given per set. Three athletes must shoot two arrows each for a total of six arrows in 120 seconds. If the first athlete shoots the arrow quickly, the second and third athletes have that much more time. In the women’s team final against China on the 28th of last month, he shot 10 points five times. He especially contributed greatly to winning the gold medal by shooting 10 points in the overtime deciding match (shoot-off). It was the moment when Jeon Hoon-young, who had not been on the international stage for 10 years since 2014, won his first gold medal on the senior stage. In the individual event, Jeon Hoon-young also had a close match with gold medalist Im Si-hyeon in the semifinals, going all the way to the last set. According to the coaching staff, Jeon Hoon-young’s personality is said to be cheerful and easygoing, rather than sensitive. He would occasionally make strange jokes during the team event to ease the tension of his younger teammates. Thanks to Jeon Hoon-young’s performance, the women’s archery team not only won the team event for the 10th consecutive time, but also won gold medals in all the events in which the women’s athletes participated, including the mixed and individual events. All three national team members were participating in their first Olympics, so there were some who said that they had relatively little experience in big games, but they achieved remarkable results. Immediately after the competition on the 3rd, Chairman Jeong Ui-seon visited Jeon Hoon-young to encourage him, drawing attention. Although he did not win a medal in the individual event, Chairman Jeong expressed his gratitude to Jeon Hoon-young for encouraging and leading his juniors throughout the competition. In a joint press conference (mixed zone) interview with reporters on this day, Jeon Hoon-young said, “There were many worries and concerns about the national archery team, but in the end, we won three gold medals in all events,” and “There was a lot of pressure, but we achieved our goal. As a team, I am satisfied with the results.” He added, “I have no regrets because we worked hard without resting while preparing. The biggest feeling is the sense of relief.” 안전놀이터